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Following described are only a few of Roatan’s most spectacular and most
famous dive sites. There are many more. All the sites can be dived or
snorkeled by beginners as well as experienced divers. In different ways of
course. Inform the divemaster about your experience level prior to the dive.
North east side dive sites
North side dive sites
South side
dive sites
 Roatan North East Side Dive Sites
dive them out
of Turquoise Bay Resort or Palmetto Bay
 Dolphin
Den is a
shallow cave like swim-through that takes you from the inside of the reef to the
outside. The maze of tunnels and caverns is so extensive that you can spend
your whole dive inside it, still it is simple enough not to get lost. There
are plenty of openings in the ceiling to make this dive save, still one may
want to stay close to his dive buddy.
Inside the cavern one may find thousands of silversides
and other creatures like moray eels or a nurse shark. On the outside one can
find many lettuce leave slugs and sea hares.
This dive site is located on the reef opposite
Fuego del Mar.
Depth range: 5 – 12 meter (15 – 40 feet)
Experience required: Intermediate
The site got its name because of several
founds of Dolphin bones. The last one in the summer of 2007 where a pod of
13 bottlenose dolphins swam into the cavern, got trapped and drowned. The
most common explanation of the tragic event is that the dolphins followed a
school of silversides into the cavern and got disoriented in the thick cloud
of baitfish.
 The Sponges
At this amazing wall you can find many different sponges
and corals including huge barrel sponges and spectacular pillar corals. The
drop-off is at 60 feet and drops to 180 feet. Very often there are turtles,
nurse-sharks and eagle rays passing by, as well as morays. During the dive
it is common to find several cleaning stations, and the safety stop has some
beautiful elk horn.
Depth range: 5 – 40 meter (15 – 130 feet)
Experience required: Beginner
 Big
Bight
A cool wall dive to the west of the mooring which sits in
about 40ft of water and just under the buoy there are a few swim throughs
which can be fun at the end of the dive. The wall starts at around 15ft and
goes down to 60ft near the mooring further west it goes beyond 140ft the
wall has a lot of sponges and look out for lobsters and crabs in the
crevices. Large grouper are often spotted along with barracuda and some
times the odd turtle or eagle ray can be seen. To the east of the buoy the
wall is a little more sloping and in the sandy areas at around 90ft nurse
sharks have been seen under the reef skirts.
 Barracuda
A top site with many different route to explore each new
dive master has developed their own route to this site, the mooring sits in
around 26ft of water with a reef shelf underneath. To the east of the
mooring there is a sandy area at around 44ft depth, this ideal for training,
and also spotting the occasional southern sting ray, following the sand
patch to the east look out for lobsters in the base of the reef, in the reef
surrounding the sand porcupine fish are often seen, carrying on north-east
from the end of the sand patch takes you to an area called shark garden.
Here as the name suggests we often spot nurse sharks at around 100ft.
heading straight north from the mooring you come to an area of sloping reef
with some great swim throughs. The sandy areas stretch down to around 90ft
and nurse sharks have been spotted in this area as well. From there head
west and explore the swim throughs. To return to the mooring head south and
you’ll find a shallow gravel canyon area that leads to the wall follow this
shallow wall at 26ft with the wall to the right, therefore heading east
again to return to the boy. As the name suggest there are barracudas around
this site and its quite common for you to spot one at the beginning of a
dive and then for the barracuda to follow you throughout your dive.
 Andy’s
Wall
A colourful wall with soft and hard corals, often visited
by groupers, schools of chubs, creole wrasse, horse-eye jacks and black
durgons among others. The wall starts at 60ft, dropping to 160.
Depth range: 5 – 40 meter (15 – 130 feet)
Experience required: Beginner
 Fish
spot / The View
This site has two names it was named the view as it is
directly out from the view restaurant. It has also been named fish spot for
its abundant amount of fish around the top of the reef between 15 to 20ft.
 The
Canyons
Pinnacles and striking formations make this a dramatic
dive site to explore. Stingrays and eagle rays are commonly found cruising
the sandy bottom. Look out for barracudas, midnight parrotfish and king
crabs.
 Sea
star channel
 This
site is ideal as training site as we begin our dive in the sandy shallows at
around 7ft, we weave our way through the shallow corral heads to the west
and down into the channel. The channel has got its name from the abundance
of cushioned sea stars that lye in the base of the channel, this is a good
area for spotting southern sting rays which on murky days are many. Follow
the channel out keeping to the slope in your right hand side the sand slope
soon turns into coral heads which multiply until you reach a shallow wall at
around 25ft, follow this till you reach an entrance between two coral heads
which take you into a wide canyon bowl. Around the entrance we have seen
eagle rays on numerous occasions. The middle of the bowl goes down to around
80ft and the topography inside changes into a rocky environment, look under
the rocks for toadfish. After exploring inside the canyon bowl, take the
same route back.
 The
Labyrinth
There’s something for everyone at the Labyrinth, it
starts with a shallow area of 40ft perfect for beginners and slowly slopes
down to 60 feet. Hidden in a big hole in the rock, a spotted drum patrols
his territory among schools of glassy sweepers. The sandy canyons winding
through towering rock formations provide thrilling swim-throughs.
Depth range: 5 – 18 meter (15 – 60 feet)
Experience required: Beginner,
intermediate for swim-throughs.
Mongoose
Mongoose is a site that like Dolphins Den takes you from
the inside of the reef to the outside, the mooring sits in about 10ft of
water. This dive site is an impressive canyon, and the cracks and crevices
provide hiding places for many different sea creatures look out for eels and
spotted drums. Also keep an eye out for rays around the entrance to mongoose
as they have been frequently spotted. The site goes down to between 70 and
80ft.
 The
Underground
Located alongside one of the channels through the reef,
this dive site turns into a tunnel at 20ft with numerous cracks letting
sunlight stream in, opening out into the deep channel reaching 80ft, where
you can find starfish, anemones & rays.
Depth range: 5 – 25 meter (15 – 80 feet)
Experience required: Beginner,
intermediate for swim throughs.
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Roatan North Side Dive
Sites
dive them out of Palmetto Bay
or Turquoise Bay
 One Minute West
A bowl
of sand at forty-feet surrounded by vertical walls of coral. OMW offers a
great training site for new students or those who want to refresh their
skills. For experienced divers, the wall is just a short swim from the
mooring.
 Canyonlands
A series of
natural cracks in the reef plunge from the reef fringe down to the reef wall.
These canyons and slots provide unique access to the reef wall. The
maze of canyons offers the chance to make multiple dives at this site. For
intermediate to experienced divers.
 Magic Bobby
This site
has unique topography that allows for multiple dives to this location
without seeing the same thing twice! Tunnels, large cracks, and overhangs
offer something for both novice and experienced divers alike.
 Milk Jug
Named for the
buoy that once marked this location, Milk Jug is visited by a small number
of divers and offers the chance to see a wide variety of fish and corals.
For divers traveling with non-divers, this site also offers excellent
snorkeling. Make your dive while your companion spends time snorkeling with
our experienced boat captain!
 Caity’s Corner
This
site has a series of large sand patches broken by vibrant ridges of coral.
Watch for the large nurse shark and Moray eels that inhabit this area. This
dive offers excellent opportunities for photography. A great site for all
levels of experience.
 Keyhole
This slot
canyon is one of our most popular sites. The canyon heads from the mooring
up through the reef fringe and ends inside the lagoon. The canyon narrows
at the top as you near the reef creating a cathedral like feeling. Watch
for green starfish and large snappers throughout the dive. Be sure to swim
upside-down for a spectacular view of sunlight streaming through the
narrowing overhangs! Recommended for experienced divers.
Palmetto Channel
Located right in front of the resort, the channel is a natural canyon
running from the lagoon to the reef wall. A great, twisting, turning dive
where many snappers, grouper, and barracuda tend to congregate. This dive
offers a little of everything that makes diving Roatan great; sand patch in
the lagoon, a canyon, and the reef wall.
 Moray Lagoon
As the name implies, keep your eye out for free swimming Moray eels. This
dive site has some great drift diving with a
generally mild current. A great dive for divers of all levels of
experience.
Devil’s Cauldron
This
is a great dive for experienced divers with good buoyancy control or those
divers who take the Peak Performance Buoyancy class. A narrow slot leads
through the reef wall and opens into a large circular opening in the reef
with interesting side slots and overhangs.
 Mickey’s Place
Another
of our sites that offers great diving for you and snorkeling for your
non-diving companion. Sand chutes lead to the reef wall that has a wide
variety of sponges and corals. Watch the holes and cracks for the Caribbean
King crabs that inhabit this area. An excellent dive site for divers of all
experience levels.
Shipwreck
Named for the remains of an old steamer
that sits atop the reef fringe. This dive offers great wall diving with a
wide variety of fish, corals, and sponges. Underwater photographers will
find a great deal of subjects between fifteen feet and forty feet. Watch
for Spotted Eagle Rays and Southern Sting Rays in the sand at the base of
the wall.
 Julian’s Wall
A great
dive near shipwreck for experienced divers interested in the corals,
sponges, and other unique creatures that inhabit the reef wall. Ask Julian
what makes this dive special when you arrive at the dive shop.
  Odyssey
Wreck
Roatan's
biggest wreck lies at 110 ft in a big sand patch next to a beautiful reef
wall. The bow of the wreck is sitting upright while the superstructure of
the stern is sitting at a 30 degree angle which makes swimming through it
quite interesting. The midsection has collapsed from the powerful surge of
several cold fronts.
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Roatan South Side Dive Sites
We keep a boat on
the South Side to offer you below dives
  The
Prince Albert is an island freighter, with an intact superstructure, that
sank in Roatan sometime in 1987. Many years of algae and soft coral growth now cover
the 42 meter (140-foot) hull and a large collection of fish species have
found their home in the cave-like structure. The wreck is sitting in a
channel only 5 minutes boat ride away from the dive shop. She lies upright
in 26 meter (85 feet) of water on a sloping white sandy
 bottom close to the
fringing reef. She is an interesting and save wreck to explore and no lights
are required to enter the wreck. The deck hatches are open and penetration
is possible through most openings. You may find thousands of silversides
hovering inside and drift together in large schools, forming a shimmering
synchronized display for the watcher. Near the wreck life’s a colony of
garden eels.
There is also a DC-3 airplane with an intact fuselage close by.
 Depth range: 10 – 18 meter / 35 – 60 feet
Experience required: Intermediate
Visibility: medium to excellent depending on tide
Interested in wreck diving check out the wreck
diving day
Interested in the facts about the
wrecks
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  Mary’s
Place is probably the most famous dive on Roatan. The site was created
during a prehistoric volcanic activity. This activity broke of a huge chunk
in the elbow like formation of the reef. This section is itself divided by
other fissures to make an exotic undersea maze decorated with spectacular
marine life. To protect this unique dive site, Mary's Place has been under a
management plan, since 1997, designed to sustain this natural resource.
Access is limited to one dive per diver and vacation. Divers need to prove
good buoyancy control. A mooring buoy is positioned over an area of 20-foot
depth at the edge of the coral wall that falls vertically over 100
feet (30 m) to a sandy slope and then fades into the dark abyss. A wide
variety of sponges compete for space on the steep walls, including
iridescent azure vase sponges, sizeable orange elephant ear sponges and
dangling rope sponges. Deep-water gorgonians and black coral extend into the
main fissure where fairy basslets and bluehead wrasse dart about their
branches. Schools of yellowtail snapper, silversides and horse-eye jacks
hang near the entrances of the fissures. Nurse sharks can be seen sleeping
under ledges while schools of spadefish pass by. The fissures are up to 12
feet (4 m) wide and 100 feet (30 m) deep in places. Inside, light shimmers
through fairy-tale formations and swim-throughs creating a dreamlike
ambiance.
Depth range: 7 – 30 meter (20 – 100 feet)
Experience required Intermediate with good buoyancy control.
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 The
mooring is located in a 15 ft deep sand patch, only two minutes away from
the dive shop. The sand patch by the way is a perfect spot for skills
practice with student divers. One will start the dive heading west from the
mooring where you’ll discover an amazingly large crack in the reef wall. You
start your descent at about 30-ft and exit the crack at 70-ft, from there
you swim under large wall overhangs and outcroppings. It is incredible; you
look up and see spectacular views made perfect by the reef wall outcrops,
corals and schools-and-schools of tropical fish. You look to the side and
see massive sea fans, in fact there are an unusual amount of large sea fans
on the dive, Coming out of the crack, you continue swimming along the wall
and find an amazing swim-through that begins at 100-ft. You ascended through
this incredible tunnel in the reef wall, the exit is at 50-ft…. what a dive!
On your way back to the mooring you’ll spot a few more smaller canyons.
Depth range: 5 – 30 meter (15 – 100 feet)
Experience required Intermediate with good buoyancy control.
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 Most
of the dives from Roatan are made along the fringing reef, which parallels
the shoreline, but Insidious Reef is located on a crest half a mile south of
the reef. Its sheer plunging wall is exquisite and pristine. The top of the
reef is in deep water, starting at 16 – 18 m (55 – 60 ft) From the top of
the crest the wall literally drops into the abyss of the Bartlett Trench to
more than 1500m (5000ft) At the reef crest, ridge after ridge is punctuated
with huge forests of staghorn and pillar corals. On the fore reef, enormous
boulder corals form shingled overhangs and ledges. Black coral and azure
vase sponges grow in profusion. There is nothing like gliding by a black
coral forest to stimulate excitement. Deepwater lace adds character and
beauty to an already fabulous cliff structure.
The marine life here is that usually associated with deeper offshore waters.
Sea turtles grace the scenery. Black crinoids sit atop large barrel sponges.
Queen and ocean triggerfish, scrawled filefish, and schools of jacks,
tobacco fish, hogfish, blackcap basslets, and black durgeons are abundant.
Occasional sharks may be seen passing by.
Depth range: 16 – 40 meter (55 – 130 feet)
Experience required: Intermediate
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This
is one of the most popular dive sites on Roatan. The mooring is in 22’ and
the crack is to the west of it. The entrance is awkward but not really
small. If a diver is worried they can enter further down the crack, where
the tunnel widens up and is completely free of overhangs. The depth of the
crack goes from 26’ to almost 85’. You can exit the crack at 60’ or 80’ but
you must be careful not to harm the wire coral.
Depth range: 7 – 26 meter (22 – 85 feet)
Experience required: Intermediate with good buoyancy control.
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  Or
“Face to Face” as the dive site name comes right to the point. Not for the
faint hearted but a must for those seeking the ultimate adventure and
adrenaline rush. Sit down in the sandy patch at 70 feet and admire the play
of up to 15 elegant gray reef sharks as they are being fed by an experienced
shark divemaster. At the site you will also see an abundance of large
schools of Horse Eye Jacks, Queen Triggerfish, Atlantic Spade Fish and
Groupers.
 This dive is offered by Waihuka Diving in Las Palmas and
we are happy to arrange it for our weekly guests.
Unfortunately or luckily, depending on the point few, sharks are rarely seen
on other dive sites.
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 This
can be one of the most exiting dives because of the chance of large pelagics
and big schools of fish.
The mooring is in a sand channel which turns into a canyon and brings you to
the wall that is divided into different shelves and drops dramatically into
the abyss. There is a chance for strong currant here, but usually there is
none. The spectacular underwater topography offers much black coral as well
as big deep water gorgonians and huge sponges.
We often do this dive on our day trip to the Pigeon
Cay's.
Depth range: 7 – 40 meter (20 – 130 feet)
Experience required: Beginner to Intermediate
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  Forty
foot point is the official “fish soup” but if there is a boat tied up we can
dive missing link instead. If diving to the east from 40’ point or to the
west from Missing Link, either way you will end up on a point on the reef
with a slight upwelling that brings up nutrition and that's why there gather
a lot of fish. You might see large Tiger Groupers being cleaned and then you
might notice huge schools of Creole Wrasse. They are usually at the top of
the reef in about 30-40’. Once you start to see a lot of fish hover
motionless nearby you are at fish soup, one might see schools of Atlantic
Spadefish, Horse Eye Jacks, Ocean Triggerfish, Bermuda Chup, Blue Chromis
and big black Groupers passing by. If you don’t see a lot of fish have a
look in the deep crevices of the wall for lobster and crab.
Depth range: 7 – 30 meter (20 – 100 feet)
Experience required: Beginner
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  Like
most of the dives on the south shore, Doc's Dive begins in shallow water
(about 15' / 5 m) and the wall extends to depths of more than 100' / 30 m.
As you swim along the wall, there are a few swim-throughs and chimneys to
explore, This dive is most stunning in the shallows where you can explore
from one sand chute to the next, looking for all of the sandy bottom life
like jaw fish, scorpion fish, flounder and occasional nurse sharks and
enjoying the abundance of the healthy corals like elkhorn, staghorn, lettuce
and others. The lettuce corals are home to some of the most beautiful reef
fish including yellowtail damselfish, red spotted hawk fish, golden tail
moray and red lipped blennies. Enjoy the wall, but save plenty of dive time
for the top of the reef.
Depth range: 5 – 30 meter (15 – 100 feet)
Experience required: Beginner,
intermediate for swim throughs.
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 Morat
Wall is one of the most exciting dives in the Bay Islands. The 3 miles long
offshore reef offers great drift diving. Due to its far distance from
settlements and most dive operators this site has a healthy collections of
large sponges, almost pristine communities of elkhorn and staghorn corals,
as well as large outcrops of star, brain and plate corals.
The vertical wall is broken by numerous sand chutes and
covered with large barrel, vase and rope sponges. Black coral dominate the
depths.
There is also a good chance to see large pelagics like
nurse sharks, eagle rays, barracudas, tarpon and tuna.
This dive can only be done on our
day trip to the Pigeon Cay's.
Depth range: 12 – 30 meter (40 – 100 feet)
Experience required: Intermediate
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Black Corals can be found on most dives in Roatan
This rare coral, in its live form, looks nothing like the jewelry. The
exterior sheath of this plant-like creature is usually an earth tone of
green, gold or tan rather than black. Tiny, delicate polyps branch off thin
stems like fern fronds, camouflaging the hard core inside. Most black coral
trees spread to about 1 meter (3 ft) in diameter. Even at this size, the
stems are quite small. It takes quite an aged colony to produce stems large
enough to make jewelry. Although black coral will grow in waters as shallow
as 9 meters (30 feet), it is more often found in deep water. This is
partially due harvesting in shallower waters. Although black coral is rare
at most locations in the Caribbean, it is found at many sites in Roatan.
In many places, including the United States, black coral sales are banned
because this slow-growing coral is vanishing. The reefs surrounding Roatan
are protected, so the jewelry crafted and sold locally is harvested
elsewhere or illegally. Despite where the coral was removed, you may choose
to appreciate this unique species alive rather than as jewelry.
Do not buy Black Coral, shells or pieces of corral!
On requests we will dive any sites around Roatan. See also the page about
day trips.
Want to know more about the diving?
Info@subwaywatersports.com |
